Ethenol?

[MtnMan]

Regular gas around here is 10% corn. Understand Trump's little adventure in Iran is bringing on mandatory 15% corn gas, starting in May.

For my small engines, I buy corn-free gas and have 20 gallons on hand, primarily for my generator. I pre-treat with StaBil and rotate it every 6 months by putting it in the car and refilling the can.

We don't drive much, so gas sits in the car for a while before refills with fresh gas, which is when ethanol does its work, even though newer cars are designed for some corn in their system.

Bite the bullet and just run corn-free? Does the premium grade have ethanol? If premium doesn't have ethanol, buy the mid-grade, which I understand is blended at the pump by delivering regular and premium, which should effectively lower the corn percentage.

You can't run your car's fuel system dry like I do with small engines, so the corn just sits there attracting water.

My other ride is a 2000 VW TDI that gets over 55MPG on the road, so even with the higher-priced diesel, it's still cheaper to drive.

 

[lxskllr]

Bite the bullet and just run corn-free? Does the premium grade have ethanol? If premium doesn't have ethanol, buy the mid-grade, which I understand is blended at the pump by delivering regular and premium,

All grades have corn unless otherwise noted. The corn free pumps I go to have their own separate pump, so there's no contamination of the hose. Blending to get midgrade makes sense, but I don't know for a fact that's how it's done. Either way it'll have ethanol.

It's basically a financial decision. If the corn free premium doesn't cause hardship, I'd run that. Corn free pumps are too far, and too expensive for me to run in anything but my small engines, but I'd like to. Ethanol is a scam imo. The only benefit is socialism for farmers, and we're not talking Bob down the street with his 64 Massey. It's the biggest of corporations getting money for not growing food.

 

[MtnMan]

Fortunately, there is a corn-free pump only about half a mile from my house, which is convenient. It's actually at a grocery store that has fuel perks, based on purchases in the store. It usually takes about 30¢ off the regular price.

They have 10 or 12 double-sided pumps; two are ethanol-free and diesel only. A lot of people are filling cans at the ethanol pumps for small engines, and I see some high-end cars pumping it.

 

[Paperdoc]

The impact of ethanol content in gasoline is not just its interaction with water. Its main impact is slow attack on internal metal surfaces in the engine. For that reason all modern car engines have been re-designed using slightly different materials to withstand that impact and most are actually labelled with the max ethanol content the car can use in its fuel. This is NOT true for many small engines like those on snowblowers, mowers, etc. Many have NOT been re-designed so they DO need ethanol-free fuel. You must read the instructions from the small engine maker to see exactly what fuel they require. For my snowblower I use basic low-octane gas plus Sta-Bil additive.

As I understand it, what Sta-Bil and similar fuel stabilizer additives contain is certain organic molecules that are MORE susceptible to attack by oxygen than the normal components (linear hydrocarbons) of gasoline. So when small amounts (as specified by the maker) are mixed into gas stored in a container, any small quantity of oxygen from the air that is absorbed into the gas will react with the additive components and be "scavenged out". This prevents trace oxygen from reacting with the normal hydrocarbons, causing them to deteriorate. If such deterioration does happen, it results in formation of sludge and "varnish" deposits in the fuel line and carburettor that can block fuel flow. Typical use of these stabilizers as directed provides sufficient amounts of these "sacrificial molecules" to keep the gas in the container protected for up to 2 years. That's normally lots of time for gas to be used on seasonal equipment. Personally, for my snowblower I use Sta-Bil in its gas can through the winter. In spring I use a dedicated kitchen-type "turkey baster" to suck the remaining gas out of the snowblower's tank and put it and the gas left in the gas can into my car gas tank so it will get used up. The I start and idle the snowblower engine until it stalls from no fuel, and leave its entire fuel system empty until fall when I start with fresh gas plus Sta-Bil.

None of this is necessary for a car's gasoline because it almost never sits in the tank for over a year.

 

[lxskllr]

In spring I use a dedicated kitchen-type "turkey baster" to suck the remaining gas out of the snowblower's tank and put it and the gas left in the gas can into my car gas tank so it will get used up.

I ran into this video last last week...

If you don't feel like watching, she suggests filling the tank before long term storage, or even filling the tank with straight 2stroke oil. This may be particular to 2stroke machines and/or corn gas, but I thought it was interesting. The only engine I particularly run dry is my generator. It has a setting to specifically do that. You can also stop it cold, which leaves fuel in the carb. My gas mower gets parked as-is. My 2stroke stuff gets used enough that it doesn't matter one way or the other, but they all get corn free gas.

 

[manly]

Fortunately, there is a corn-free pump only about half a mile from my house, which is convenient. It's actually at a grocery store that has fuel perks, based on purchases in the store. It usually takes about 30¢ off the regular price.

They have 10 or 12 double-sided pumps; two are ethanol and diesel only. A lot of people are filling cans at the ethanol pumps for small engines, and I see some high-end cars pumping it.

I believe you meant to say ethanol-free.

@lxskllr is right, corn ethanol fuel is a scam. Jalopnik had a relevant article a week ago.


Jalopnik - As E15 gas becomes more common, remember that it's terrible for these engines

 

[MtnMan]

I believe you meant to say ethanol-free.

Yep, fixed

 

[Steltek]

Murphy Oil (located mainly in the South and Mid-west) usually has ethanol-free pumps in their stations. The local ones are where I get my ethanol-free gas for my Kubota zero turn mower. Mostly, they seem to be located near Walmart stores in our area.

More expensive than premium with ethanol, but absolutely worth it (especially for small engines). I've never, ever run my Kubota on anything else since it was new, and as a result have never had any type of fuel problems with it.

I just hope they don't discontinue carrying ethanol-free gas related to this as we mostly have no other local sources for it that I've found (and whose tanks that I would trust). Otherwise, may have to resort to separating it for my mower.

How to Remove Ethanol from Gas: 11 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

Removing ethanol from gasoline is easier than it sounds. Ethanol is more soluble in water than it is in gasoline. Therefore, if you add water to the gasoline and vigorously shake it, the ethanol will attach itself to the water. After it...

www.wikihow.com

 

[lxskllr]

Otherwise, may have to resort to separating it for my mower.

Problem with that is you have to add something to boost the octane. It gets it from alcohol, so you lose that when you remove it. If I lost the option for corn free fuel, I'd switch to corn gas for my mower, and Aspen for my saws. Aspen is very spendy, but the fuel is top quality. Burns cleaner, and has less harmful emissions. I'd have to look into prices. Might be worth going in with others on a 55G drum to save money. It's about $30 for a 5L jug.

 

[BoomerD]

I ran into this video last last week...

If you don't feel like watching, she suggests filling the tank before long term storage, or even filling the tank with straight 2stroke oil. This may be particular to 2stroke machines and/or corn gas, but I thought it was interesting. The only engine I particularly run dry is my generator. It has a setting to specifically do that. You can also stop it cold, which leaves fuel in the carb. My gas mower gets parked as-is. My 2stroke stuff gets used enough that it doesn't matter one way or the other, but they all get corn free gas.

I don't own any 2 stroke motors. My lawnmower, generator, and pressure washer are all 4 strokes. I ALWAYS shut off the fuel flow from the tank and run the carburetor dry. Have done so forever. My Honda mower is 16 years old, and starts on the first pull almost every time...even when it hasn't been run for 4-5 months. (when we moved out of CA, I ran it until the tank was completely empty, changed the oil, then hit it with some cylinder fogging oil. Didn't get started for almost 7 years. (I'd give it a pull a couple of times per year) Filled the tank with fresh gasoline, gave it a couple of minutes to fill the carb, started first pull.

 

[mindless1]

I always liked the idea of ethanol free fuel, but never bothered to go out of my way to use it.

I don't regret that decision. I've had vehicles over 25 years old before retired, that ran on it all their lives and never had an issue. I still have a push mower and riding mower over 25 y/o that have as well. The push mower has needed a new diaphragm a few times, the riding mower nothing fuel related. I did have to clean out the carb in a snow blower, and a low end gas 2 cycle leaf blower, and replace fuel lines on it and a 25 y/o string trimmer a few times. It wasn't a big deal, and no noticeable metal degradation. They still run great.

I do empty and run till dry, fuel from anything put into storage but that's about it, no stabilizer additive, though after the last lawn and landscaping care in the fall, I empty the remaining gas from that can into a vehicle to use it up instead of sitting all winter, then the gas for the snowblower is stored in a smaller can, and what isn't used by spring gets dumped into a vehicle to get used up too. That seems like the key to my use, that I limit the # of months storage, only buying as much as I'll use up within about 3 months.

10% ethanol fuel can't soak up any more water than was in the air it is exposed to, so ensure that your gas can lids seal tight and the air-intake valve/flaps on your power equipment tank caps seal shut instead of being wedged open by debris, then you limit the amount of water that can get into the gas because there is no fresh air exchange to bring in more water vapor than the amount that was present in the air drawn in as the tank empties. It might help that I don't live in an especially humid environment but it isn't arid either.